Ferron City talks about city projects

By ALICE WADLEYstaff writer

Ferron City held their meeting at the City Hall. For the citizen concerns, one citizen reported Jerry Stotler had put in a drip system. She said it works very well. Stotler was recently at the Ferron City Library to give information on how to build your own drip system.

Wade Williams, a representative from City Sanitation Inc. was at the meeting. Williams said he is looking forward to the RFP. CSI provides a high quality service to their customers. They have cameras on their sanitation trucks which allow drivers to see their blind spots. There are also cameras that monitor the driver and the road. Another monitor in the trucks has a GPS that monitors the drivers activities, such as braking quickly. If an event is detected, it is sent to the drive cam headquarters. If there is an accident this information can be used to assist in the investigation. These devices help to make safety a high priority. Williams stated, most accidents happen when drivers get out of the truck. CSI is using more stable trash cans and an arm that has a longer reach to pick up the cans. This minimizes the driver having to get out of the truck, minimizing accidents. The trucks are also equipped with secondary braking systems. It has been several years since the company has had an accident or an injury. The time frame for the RFP is the end of August. Contracts will be awarded on a points system, which would include criteria such as dependability and quality of service. The score sheets will be sent out to each prospective company at a later date.

The city received information for a tournament based on the movie The Hunger Games. Each city will have the opportunity to send two individuals from their city. The contestants compete in paint ball, if a contestant is shot they are out of the game. Each city will decide how the contestants are chosen. The entry fee is $250. The city will put the information in the city newsletter to see if there is any interest. Insurance will be covered by the recreation district.

The Utah Local Government Trust has a safety incentive for the city. The city will have to organize a safety committee, who will meet monthly and report to the city on a regular basis. The council voted to participate in the program.

The city is getting ready to construct a 24 x 24 building at the city cemetery. A garage style building will be cheaper to construct. Councilman Ronny Bloomer contacted Sutherlands about purchasing a building from them during their anniversary sale. The manager told Bloomer she would honor the 20 percent discount that was offered for the sale, until he could present it to the city council. Originally, the building would cost $9,266 with the discount it would cost $7,412.93 saving the city a considerable amount of money.

Bloomer reported a citizen was getting garbage in his fields, this is due to the wind and the dumpsters being full and not dumped in a timely manner. Other employees at the meeting reported similar complaints with the dumpsters not being emptied. Work is also continuing to improve the fairgrounds.

Councilwoman Abby Jensen spoke to Dustin Deto from the fire department. Deto said they are holding off on the city fireworks show for now.

Councilwoman McCall Fuller reported on an earlier incident of a resident having too many animals on their property. Some of the animals have found new homes and the neighbors seem happy with this resolution.

Councilman Trent Jackson thanked Emery County Recreation for the dirt to fill in the ball fields. It greatly improved the quality of the fields.

Mayor Joann Behling said the city will plant approximately 40 trees on Arbor Day. A majority of these trees will be placed in the cemetery and a large spruce tree will be planted in Mayor's Park.

The city has been concentrating on the cemetery improvements lately. The golf course greens have been sanded and reseeded.

DaShai Nelson will run the golf course restaurant this season.

An inventory was done jointly with Nelson and the city.

The carpets have been cleaned and some painting has been done. The city will not run the restaurant this year. The city is considering putting a port-a-potty between holes 16 and 17, but has not heard back from the company yet.

Emery County Economic Development is offering businesses money to improve their store fronts on Main Street and Highway 10. The city council will send a letter to all qualifying businesses to see if there is any interest.

The city will have to adopt a proposed city budget in their May meeting. The final budget will be voted on in the June meeting. The cell phone the city has for animal control is not working very well. They will terminate the contract and reimburse the animal control officer for a portion of his personal cell phone bill.